A Senate panel could vote as soon as today on a measure that would give Congress a final approval on any nuclear deal with Iran — despite a veto threat from the White House.
The U.S. and five other world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — are negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, and are hoping to reach an agreement by the end of June that they say would prevent the Islamic republic from getting nuclear weapons. The White House fears that any congressional action could imperil those talks.
But as NPR's David Welna tells our Newscast unit every Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to vote in favor of the bill; support from some Democrats is expected, too.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who heads the panel, said late Monday that a vote could come today.
"There have been some tweaks," he said. "I'm hopeful that we're going to be successful tomorrow."
The Associated Press adds: "A new version would be an attempt to make the bill more palatable to lawmakers who have sought changes, such as shortening from 60 days to 30 days the length of time that Congress would have to review any final deal that's reached."
A similar House measure is expected to be introduced if the Senate acts on its version of the bill.
Many in Congress — both Republicans and Democrats — have criticized the talks with Iran; U.S. ally Israel has called it a bad deal.
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